Nightmares
by Maristela Freesia
Summary: Glaki and Briar have a talk about something that's haunted them both for a while.


**For the TPE October Challenge. It's just this weird little idea that I had. Glaki-centric, set during Shaken (how pretentious is that, setting this in my own story?) while Tris is in her coma. More at the end.**

_**n i g h t m a r e s**_

_Many children cry loudly because they want attention, or they're hurt, or afraid. When they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop._

To Glakisa Irakory, nightmares were nothing new.

She'd been plagued by nightmares since she was about five years old. It was really just a side effect of having her mother killed when she was four. And then having her "aunt" killed in a matter of days... it was _disgusting._ The thing was, when she had nightmares, she didn't have the filthy, bloody kind. She had the kind where she woke up and cried for a little while. They were mostly about the two women who she'd lost. They screamed for her, screamed at her, to her, and it made her sob when she woke up.

Every now and again, somebody would hear and ask what was wrong. She said that it was the odd nightmare, nothing to be worried about. They hashed it out with her and the next night she'd say it was gone. But the nightmares never went away. She just cried night after night, and then it was over. Nightmares were silent, and they were heartbreaking, but she just let them happen quietly.

Until Tris's accident.

For the first few nights, she was fine. Tris's foster-siblings let her and Keth have a spare room until she woke up. They were too kind, too generous to their sister's old students. It made Glaki's heart break, because she knew so many people who wouldn't let them stay. And for a few nights, for the first week, the nightmares were the normal kind. She cried quietly so that Keth didn't wake up, didn't even stir. He was such a heavy sleeper.

But on the first night of the second week, when everyone was sure that Tris was taking a turn for the worse, Glaki learned what a real nightmare was. It was so horrible that she was afraid to think about it for fear that it would come true, yet too real to just ignore. Tris had been in it so vividly, bloodied and furious, and her mother, and Yali, too. They'd all been in so much pain, and their hatred for her for whatever reason was so overwhelming. She woke up screaming.

Keth, heavy sleeper that he was, didn't move. He mumbled something in his sleep, then went back to snoring. Neither of Tris's sisters- Sandry and Daja, she was pretty sure now- came up, or Niko. She thought that she'd gotten away with screaming in the night.

Suddenly, there was a light rapping on the door, and the brother looked in. Briar, she thought, the name coming to her, despite her lasting fear over the nightmare. He frowned at her now, seemingly confused. "What's the matter?" he asked, watching her. "Why you crying?"

Glaki lifted a hand to her cheek and felt that it was wet. She hadn't even noticed that the tears were leaking from her eyes, but now that she knew, she realized that her face was practically covered with them. "I don't know," she mumbled. "Nightmare." But he'd better not-

Briar stepped inside so quietly it was scary. Maneuvering himself around Keth, who was still snoring away on the floor, he sat down next to her. "Anything you feel like talking about?" he asked, concern in his eyes. This was strange to her. The happiest she'd seen Briar since Tris's accident was when he was in his garden, but this was different. There was some kind of genuine worry for her and her nightmares there.

"Not really," she said quietly. A second later she sighed. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Glad we got that cleared up," Briar mumbled. "All right. I just heard you screaming, and thought..." he trailed off, his eyes glazed over with memories. When he looked at her again, she wondered just what he was seeing. Finally he blinked, and his eyes were clear again. "I've had some pretty bad nightmares, and I don't want anyone screaming in the night."

That changed things. It just seemed to strike a chord with the girl, and she knew what she wanted to do.

"Did Tris tell you how we met?" she asked finally, her voice cracking with memories. Briar just nodded. "The Ghost," he said simply. "And your... the people around you," he amended quickly, as her eyes were filling with fresh tears. "What about it?"

"I've had nightmares nearly every night since," Glaki admitted. "About... about my momma and my aunt Yali." She could see his eyes widen. "Nearly every night since?" he repeated in shock. "But... but that was six years ago! When you have nightmares-"

"I don't normally scream," she hissed, suddenly defensive. "That's because it was really bad tonight. I normally just cry a little."

"That's not my point!" Briar protested, his voice rising. Keth's snores stuttered, and Briar's voice lowered back to a whisper. "When you have nightmares, you may want to just suffer through 'em, but you can't! It's not good for you, 'specially not after six years!"

Glaki looked away, almost ashamed. This wasn't advice from someone who wanted her to be happy. This was advice from somebody who knew what he was talking about and was trying to save her.

"Sorry," she mumbled at last. "I just always thought I could handle it."

"Well, don't think that," Briar answered, beyond whatever he'd been mad about. "You never can." He sighed heavily. "Was it about Tris?"

Not even going to act surprised, Glaki nodded. "Tris, and Momma and Yali, and..." she choked off. Briar shook his head. "I don't want you to tell me," he said quietly. "I want you to think about how to solve the problems in your dreams and then go back to sleep." He stood up, still making as much noise as a shadow. "Got it?"

Glaki curled up on her mattress. "Got it," she answered. "Thanks." White teeth flashed in the room, and then he was gone, the door closing.

Screaming in the night was something new to Glaki, but she worked around it. Briar's advice worked like a dream; the next morning, she realized that she hadn't had any more nightmares. He gave her a smile at breakfast, because something about her just seemed better, whether it was the peaceful look in her eyes or the way she smiled. He'd done a good job.

To Glakisa Irakory, nightmares used to be nothing new. It didn't matter if they were the kind where she woke up with tears streaming down her cheeks, or screamed out in the middle of the night. Nightmares were a daily part of her existence.

Now, that spot has been taken by peaceful dreams, all thanks to Briar Moss.

**All right! First thing's first: that little quote at the beginning is from The Beast Below, an episode of Doctor Who, put there because I thought it fit. I don't own it, or any of the characters. But I do own the writing, and the idea of Tris's coma. I'm pretty proud of this. I think it could go into either "scream" or "haunted" for the competition. It's so weird, it's a Halloween thing and I have Briar/Glaki friendship fluff. That's so weird, and yet so me. So... I think that's about it. Review, pretty please! Bye!**


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